Edexcel M3 2021 June — Question 2 9 marks

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleM3 (Mechanics 3)
Year2021
SessionJune
Marks9
PaperDownload PDF ↗
Mark schemeDownload PDF ↗
TopicCircular Motion 1
TypeCircular motion with rod
DifficultyStandard +0.3 This is a standard M3 circular motion problem with a conical pendulum setup. Given tan θ = 3/4, students can find sin θ and cos θ using a 3-4-5 triangle. Part (a) requires resolving vertically (T cos θ = mg), and part (b) requires resolving horizontally toward the center and applying circular motion (T sin θ = mω²r). The geometry to find the radius is straightforward. This is slightly easier than average because the angle is given in a convenient form and the method is a standard textbook exercise.
Spec6.05c Horizontal circles: conical pendulum, banked tracks

2. \begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{b99b3eb0-9bca-42e3-bea9-3b0454a872db-04_374_1084_246_493} \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Figure 2}
\end{figure} Figure 2 shows a fairground ride that consists of a chair of mass \(m\) attached to one end of a rigid arm of length \(\frac { 5 a } { 4 }\). The other end of the arm is freely hinged to the rim of a thin horizontal circular disc of radius \(a\). The disc rotates with constant angular speed \(\omega\) about a vertical axis through the centre of the disc. As the ride rotates the arm remains in a vertical plane through the centre of the disc. The arm makes a constant angle \(\theta\) with the vertical, where \(\tan \theta = \frac { 3 } { 4 }\) The chair is modelled as a particle and the arm is modelled as a light rod.
  1. Find the tension in the arm in terms of \(m\) and \(g\)
  2. Find \(\omega\) in terms of \(a\) and \(g\)

2.

\begin{figure}[h]
\begin{center}
  \includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{b99b3eb0-9bca-42e3-bea9-3b0454a872db-04_374_1084_246_493}
\captionsetup{labelformat=empty}
\caption{Figure 2}
\end{center}
\end{figure}

Figure 2 shows a fairground ride that consists of a chair of mass $m$ attached to one end of a rigid arm of length $\frac { 5 a } { 4 }$. The other end of the arm is freely hinged to the rim of a thin horizontal circular disc of radius $a$. The disc rotates with constant angular speed $\omega$ about a vertical axis through the centre of the disc. As the ride rotates the arm remains in a vertical plane through the centre of the disc. The arm makes a constant angle $\theta$ with the vertical, where $\tan \theta = \frac { 3 } { 4 }$

The chair is modelled as a particle and the arm is modelled as a light rod.
\begin{enumerate}[label=(\alph*)]
\item Find the tension in the arm in terms of $m$ and $g$
\item Find $\omega$ in terms of $a$ and $g$
\end{enumerate}

\hfill \mbox{\textit{Edexcel M3 2021 Q2 [9]}}